Ocean-themed Drawings of Local Artist 'Danny O' Now on View at Sandler Center

The next Sandler Center for the Performing Arts Art Gallery exhibition highlights the return of an artist closely attached to the history and culture of Virginia Beach, featuring a blended collection of ocean themes with streamlined drawings. 

Daniel “Danny O” O’Connor is known widely in Virginia Beach for his 1980s series of cartoon characters that famously adorned 17th Street Surf Shop T-shirts and became iconic among local teens, surfers and skaters.  

“One Liners,” an exhibition reflecting the artist’s new journey of simplifying his life and art, will run Sept. 24-Jan. 2 when the Sandler Center box office is open and to event ticketholders during Sandler Center events.  

The Sandler Center and Sandler Center Foundation will host a free, public opening reception for the exhibition, 6-8 p.m., Oct. 6. The Sandler Center Foundation requests attendees to please RSVP online in advance of the reception. 

Inspired by the life work of Milton Avery, the artist selected a group of drawings for this exhibition and transformed them from studio notes to works of art on canvas and linen. The exhibition is a nod to the intimate power and potency of line and drawing. 

The artist's influences are rooted in his upbringing on Nantasket Beach down the street from an Art Deco amusement park from the 1920s, with a wooden roller coaster and a time warp of rides and mini golf. He later joined the U.S. Navy and attended Cooper Union in New York City before beginning his journey as an artist.  

Danny O has recently reconnected to the Virginia Beach art scene, including being the featured artist at the 2024 Virginia MOCA Boardwalk Art Show. 

Learn more about the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts Art Gallery, including opportunities to potentially exhibit, at sandlercenter.org. Questions may be emailed to artsinfo@vbgov.com.   

• Art at the Sandler Center